The London conference was co-hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The conference was co-chaired by the UK Foreign Minister David Miliband and his Afghan counterpart Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

Unlike previous forums on Afghanistan, the London conference focused specifically on only some key areas in which the international community and Afghanistan are to make joint commitments to ensure the momentum for progress. The key areas include: security, development and management, and regional cooperation architecture. The delegates discussed indicators measuring the real progress in Afghanistan’s stability and reconstruction which are fundamental to the progressive handover of responsibility to the Afghani and starting to gradually reduce the international community involvement in Afghanistan.

The international community also agreed a communiqué at the close of the conference. It includes a preamble and three thematic parts corresponding to the key areas which are to underlie the new agreement between the international community and Afghanistan.

Piotr Paszkowski
Press Spokesman